Against the Gods

Yun Che did not immediately enter the Imperial Heaven Tower. Instead he suddenly said, “For the last few years, you’ve been trying all means, whether openly or covertly, to get me to cooperate with that Northern Region Devil Queen.”

“It’s not ‘you’, it’s ‘us’,” Qianye Ying’er corrected him.

“I’m going to confirm this one last time.” Yun Che turned his head to look at Qianye Ying’er. “Is she really that ‘useful’?”

“Her degree of usefulness depends on how much you can control.” Qianye Ying’er’s brows slanted slightly. “I am only sure about one thing. As long as you are strong enough, she definitely won’t disappoint you.”

Yun Che did not say anything else. Instead, he started walking toward the Imperial Heaven Tower.

As the two of them drew near, the Imperial Heaven disciples who were guarding the gates of the tower did not try to stop them.

The Heavenly Sovereign Assembly was not an event that only invitees could attend. Anyone who was qualified to enter could do so freely. However, the “qualifications” needed to enter were quite harsh… one’s cultivation needed to be at least at the level of the Divine King Realm.

If any person’s cultivation was lower than the Divine King Realm, they would be directly repelled by the invisible barrier that surrounded the Imperial Heaven Tower.

The Imperial Heaven Tower was not a large structure. If one did not possess a sufficient level of cultivation, just being amongst all the densely packed auras radiating from these elites would be hard to endure.

Aside from Beihan Chu, who had died at a tragically young age, every one of the Heavenly Sovereigns who were on the ranking was present. All of them were either staring openly or glancing covertly at Tian Guhu. Actually, all of them were incredibly aware of the fact that even though they were all Heavenly Sovereigns of the Northern Divine Region, Tian Guhu existed in a realm that was far above them… in every single aspect.

Upon Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er’s arrival, the auras of two level seven Divine Sovereigns instantly drew much attention. Furthermore, these were two completely unfamiliar auras and faces, causing more than a few people to wrinkle their brows in suspicion… but that was all anyone did.

Because they were not invited to this event, they could only observe from the sidelines. However, at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out. “It’s them!”

It was a woman’s voice and it was clear that she had blurted those words out. Her shout had been exceptionally ear-splitting and sudden in this solemn and quiet event. It instantly drew everyone’s attention.

The one who had yelled was, shockingly enough, Heavenly Net Realm’s Luo Yun, the girl who had just been saved by Tian Guhu. She had just taken her seat and when she had inadvertently glanced at the newly-arrived Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er, she immediately let out an involuntary yell.

Luo Ying’s eyes swiveled toward them and his brows immediately sank.

The Heavenly Net Realm King rebuked her, “What do you think you are doing!? Causing a disturbance during such an event!”

Luo Yun’s shout had undoubtedly drawn the attention of Tian Guhu. The moment he saw Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er, his brow immediately furrowed and he said, “Please escort those two people out.”

What sort of status did Tian Guhu possess? This was especially true because they were in the Imperial Heaven Tower right now, so one could well imagine how much weight his words had. The moment his words took form, all eyes zeroed in on Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er.

This was because the only people Tian Guhu could have been referring to when he said “those two people” were the two level seven Divine Sovereigns who had just entered the Imperial Heaven Tower, whether it was the direction of his gaze or the timing of his words.

Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er stopped in their tracks. Yun Che’s face was completely expressionless, while a trace of playful mockery could be seen in the depths of Qianye Ying’er’s eyes… They did not even need to contrive a reason to stir up trouble. The moment they walked in the door, someone delivered the opportunity straight to them.

The Northern Divine Region was truly an interesting place.

Tian Muyi stood up and looked at Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er. He asked, “Guhu, what’s going on? Have you had some sort of past conflict with them?”

Tian Guhu said, “Reporting to Royal Father. This child has never had any conflict with them or grievance against them. In fact, we do not even know each other. Even if I did bear a grudge against them, this child would also never disrupt the Heavenly Sovereign Assembly due to a personal grievance.”

“It’s just that…” Tian Guhu turned around and faced the silent Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er. “In my opinion, these two people are not worthy of entering our Imperial Heaven Tower!”

His voice was as calm as a pool of placid water, but each word resounded in the hearts of everyone present. Even more eyes focused on Yun Che and his companion. Half of these gazes were amazed, half of these gazes were filled with pity. It was very clear that these two unknown figures had definitely crossed Tian Guhu’s bottomline in some way or form.

To stir up such revulsion in the heart of the distinguished Sir Lonely Swan, the audience could not help but feel pity for their future.

“Why does my esteemed nephew say such a thing?” the Great Viper Sage said with a bright and cheery smile.

Tian Guhu’s expression was as calm as still water. He answered with a calm voice, “Just half a day ago, the Heavenly Net Realm’s Brother Ying and Little Sister Yun met with danger and their lives were hanging by a thread. But these two people simply passed them by.”

“Moreover, Brother Ying and Little Sister Yun were not entangled up in some personal grievance, they were being beset by profound beasts. Given their cultivation as level seven Divine Sovereigns, they merely needed to lift a hand to resolve the danger and save two young Divine Kings who possessed a boundless future, while also forming a good relationship for the future.”

“However, they actually completely ignored their cries for help and coldly left instead.” Tian Guhu slowly shook his head. “This sort of conduct isn’t something I can sit by and look at without doing anything, much less tolerate.”

“Such a thing really happened?” The Heavenly Net Realm King asked.

Luo Ying rose and said, “It is indeed true. When Little Yun and I were in mortal danger, we saw those two pass by. Originally, our hearts were filled with surprise and joy, and we shouted for help. They were a little more than three thousand meters away from Little Yun and I, but they turned a deaf ear to us and did not even glance our way.”

Upon finishing, he looked at Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er, elation flashing in his seemingly calm eyes.

“That’s enough,” Tian Muyi waved his hand instead. “Even though it was not right for them to not lend a helping hand, it was not wrong either. There is no need to look any deeper into this.”

It was indeed extremely cold and heartless for them to coldly abandon two people to death. However, abandoning someone to their death was all too common in the Northern Divine Region. In fact, from a certain perspective, the fact that they did not take advantage of their misfortune and plunder them was already a very humane thing to do.

Tian Guhu gave a soft sigh before he turned around and bowed. He said, “This child will respect and obey Royal Father’s words. It’s just that as a junior upon whom many hopes have been placed upon, I have no choice but to say a few words to all of the heroes gathered here today.”

“…” Tian Muyi did not say anything. There was no one who understood his son better than him, so he more or less knew what Tian Guhu was about to say.

Tian Guhu faced the crowd. His eyebrows knit together slightly as he spoke in clear and bright voice, “The Northern Divine Region we live in used to be one of the four divine regions of the God Realm. Yet we were abandoned by the world and became enemies with the other three divine regions because of this. They made it so that we don’t even dare to take a step out of this place, forcing us to stay here forever.”

“So the ground under our feet. These lands which are given the title of divine region. How is it any different from a gigantic prison?”

The Imperial Heaven Tower grew quiet and all eyes fell on Tian Guhu.

“The darkness energy in the Primal Chaos has constantly been dissipating. The territory of the Northern Divine Region is shrinking with every passing moment. From time to time, we will even hear of the eternal demise of a star realm or a star region, and one day, it will be our turn as well.”

“Given these current circumstances, the future of the Northern Divine Region falls upon the shoulders of we profound practitioners who are fortunate enough to step into the upper echelons of the profound way. If we, the people who control the lifeline of the Northern Divine Region, still do not join our hands together and show our benevolence to the world, if we still continue to devour each other for our own benefit and our hearts continue to be cold and indifferent, then what future does this Northern Divine Region still have? How could we live up to these powers that have been bestowed upon us by the heavens?”

Tian Guhu swiveled around and stared straight at Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er. “The wickedness that Guhu saw today is deeply rooted in my heart. If I had not happened to pass by just in time to lend a helping hand, these two young Divine Kings, who might shoulder the future of the Northern Divine Region together with us, would have lost their lives to the claws of those profound beasts. Since that is the case, then the indifference of these two individuals was no different from personally sending them to their deaths!”

“If a person does not know what compassion is and humanity does not exist in their heart, then what difference is that person from a beast!?” Tian Guhu’s voice grew deeper. “This child does not dare to defy Royal Father’s will. However, I’m absolutely not willing to allow these sort of people to stain the Imperial Heaven Tower. As a fellow Divine Sovereign, I am filled with shame!”

As those heavy words fell, everyone’s expression changed. There were some who approved, some who gasped in admiration, some who fell silent, and even some who shook their heads.

Anyone who knew Tian Guhu’s name naturally also understood why he would change his name to “Guhu”. It was not just because his talent was singular in this realm. It was also because his heart and his ambition were far beyond the people of his generation. This was also why he disdained being compared to his peers.

Perhaps, his words sounded far too naive to these weathered and experienced elders. However, they still caused everyone to gasp in admiration. It even gave everyone present a feeling that it was truly a blessing from heaven that the Northern Divine Region managed to produce someone like Tian Guhu.

“Heh heh.” Tian Muyi spoke before anyone else could. A warm smile appeared on his face as he said, “Guhu, your father is truly comforted by your intentions and aspirations. Today is a day that belongs to you young Heavenly Sovereigns. It is an event held specifically for all of you. So there’s no need to get distracted over this. The three observers from the king realms will soon arrive, so I ask that everyone quietly take your seats. I believe that today’s assembly definitely won’t let down anyone’s expectations.”

Just as he had finished speaking, before anyone in the crowd could respond, an exceptionally sweet and velvety voice rang out in the air. A woman had started speaking. “I’ve seen many idiots in my life, but this is truly the first time I’ve seen someone who is this ridiculously stupid. I heard that Tian Guhu is nearly six hundred years old. This means he still has nearly six hundred years of experience under his belt. Could it be that he spent it all lying on a dog’s back?”

The woman’s voice was velvety and provocative. It sounded like her voice was singing mournfully, but it also sounded like she was lazily talking to herself. However, every word was incredibly grating and it left everyone completely flabbergasted.

It was as if the chorus of replies that were just about to erupt had been covered up by a giant wok that descended from the heavens. Everyone’s gaze fell on the woman who had spoken… Astonishingly enough, it was one of the two people whom Tian Guhu was disgusted with.

Qianye Ying’er’s delicate head drooped slightly, the icy-blue mask on her face rippled with misty cold energy, making it so that no one could clearly distinguish her features. But as long as a person had eyes, they could catch the openly languid demeanor revealed on the exquisite portion of her face that was revealed by the mask.

It was as if she had just said words that could not be any more simple or ordinary.

Tian Muyi was a naturally prudent man. When he heard that three esteemed guests from the king realms were about to arrive, he did not want to leave any minor issues unresolved. That was why he had overlooked this matter.

In everyone’s eyes, the fact that Tian Muyi did not chase these people out after Tian Guhu had said such words was already a huge kindness toward Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er.

But they had never even dreamed that this Divine Sovereign who had escaped her previous predicament, and a woman at that, would actually insult Tian Guhu in front of everyone!

Moreover, this was the Imperial Heavenly Realm! The Imperial Heaven Tower!

Qianye Ying’er’s words had no doubt violently stirred up a huge hornet’s nest. Tian Muyi’s calm face suddenly darkened and everyone in the Imperial Heaven Sect stared at Qianye Ying’er with rage in their eyes. Imperial Heaven Great Elder Tian Muhe slammed the table in front of him and stood up. His seat immediately split apart as he pointed at Qianye Ying’er and roared furiously, “You scoundrel! How dare you behave in such a manner in our Imperial Heaven Tower!?”

“Oh?” Qianye Ying’er glanced at him as she said in a very slow manner. “This is amazing. When he called us animals, you did not even let out a fart. But the moment I said that he’s wasted his life, you stood up and barked crazily at me. Could it be that you’re actually the dog he wasted his life lying on?

“YOU!!” Tian Muhe’s eyes grew as dark as an abyss and his body had even started to shake… He had lived for more than ten millennia, but this was the first time he had ever been in this situation. As the Imperial Heaven Great Elder, there were hardly any people who did not treat him with respect, much less a person who would dare to say such words to him!

At this moment, everyone could have heard a pin drop in the Imperial Heaven Tower. The scene they were witnessing was something they could neither imagine nor understand, no matter how hard they tried.

A level seven Divine Sovereign actually dared to insult Tian Guhu in front of everyone in this Imperial Heaven Tower! She had even dared to insult the Imperial Heaven Great Elder.

Furthermore, her insults were simply far too vicious! Even the calmest person here would be incapable of tolerating them, much less people like Tian Guhu and Tian Muhe!

Tian Guhu turned around, his sword-like brows slanting slightly. But he did not show any anger.

“Great Elder, there’s no need for you to get angry.” Tian Muyi slowly rose to his feet. “These two pathetic and insignificant characters are not worthy of your wrath.”

Tian Muyi’s expression was as calm as before and no ripples could be seen from his face. However, Huo Tianxing and the Great Viper Sage, who were sitting to his right and his left, could clearly feel a shockingly cold intent leaking out of him.

He could calmly deal with the fact that Tian Muhe had been insulted. However, when it came to Tian Guhu… Everyone in the Imperial Heaven Realm knew that his son was the greatest pride and joy in his life, a reverse scale that absolutely no one could touch.

Just based on the first few words that she had said, this woman and her companion were already destined for a fate worse than death.